While libraries "never want to lose one book," that number is a small fraction of Burton Barr's 500,000-book collection, said Lee Franklin, spokeswoman for the Phoenix Public Library.

Most of the damaged books came from the library's reference section and were older materials such as almanacs, atlases and encyclopedias, Franklin said.

The fire sprinkler pipe on the library's roof burst and spread water throughout the building's five stories. The 208,000 square-footlibrary near Central Avenue and McDowell Road was closed indefinitely following the flooding.